Joao Winckler

Yeah you can, but the thing with citrus from seed is they take ages to fruit, sometimes 7-10 years. And even then the fruit might not taste like the parent, especially with lemons. Most commercial citrus is grafted for a reason. Still worth a go if you're patient though, the trees themselves grow nicely and you might get lucky.

Chicken wire is probably the most reliable thing honestly. I had the same problem with peas, they'd vanish overnight. Started them in modules indoors and planted out once they had a few inches of growth, squirrels lost interest after that. Still had to cover the bed for the first week or so though.

Bit of both honestly. I started out trying to plan everything on paper but the garden had other ideas. Now I do a rough layout for the permanent stuff, trees and perennials mostly, and let the annuals fill in around them based on what actually worked the year before. The soil thing is real though, what grew brilliantly in one spot three years ago sometimes just stops performing there. I've stopped fighting it and just move things around.

Totally agree with starting from what you already cook with. Rosemary and thyme are the ones I reach for most, both in the kitchen and when I feel a cold coming on. Thyme tea is surprisingly decent for a sore throat. The jump from culinary to medicinal feels a lot less intimidating when you already know the plant.

Good to see them all leafing out after the winter. Losing the Pioneer Mac is annoying but at least the Braeburn and Gala should give you a decent spread once they get going. Fingers crossed for a quiet spring up there.

The perennial scallion suggestion is a good one, those things basically look after themselves once they get going. Garlic chives too, completely indestructible in my experience and you can cut them back over and over.

Interesting about the blanching trick with the black container. I've been meaning to try GKH but keep putting it off because of the mixed reviews on taste. Might just stick a pot over it like Hugo did and see if that sorts it. I find most perennial greens need a bit of coaxing to be properly enjoyable, sorrel being the exception, that one's good from day one.

Pansies from seed are weirdly fiddly for something that self-sows so freely. I think the timing thing is probably your issue, they really want cool soil to get going properly. Late July under shade cloth sounds like a solid plan, that should give them enough time to bulk up before autumn. The ones I've had best luck with were started when nights were still cool and they had a bit of a chill to push them along.

Roselle is one of those plants that really punishes you for not being in the tropics. I tried it once in a polytunnel and it just sat there looking miserable until about September, then finally started budding right as the first cold snap hit. Never again. Okra does the same thing for me, just refuses to commit until it's too late.

Yeah a foot of decent soil over heavy clay is tricky but not a dealbreaker, especially on a slope. The fact that water won't pool is a big plus. I'd be more worried about the roots hitting that clay wall in summer and not being able to chase moisture down. Have you thought about mounding up a bit on top rather than trying to go deeper? Even 6 inches of extra soil on top gives the roots somewhere to spread laterally without fighting the clay.